BEIJING: US clothing retailer Gap has apologized to China over a T-shirt with a map showing the mainland but omitting Taiwan, becoming the latest foreign firm to run afoul of Beijing’s policy on the self-ruling island.
China, which considers Taiwan a rebel province awaiting reunification, has taken airlines, hotels and other companies to task in recent months for listing the island as a separate country on their websites.
The Gap shirt, which was sold in overseas markets, features a map of China, but Taiwan does not appear to the southeast of the country, according to a photo of the company’s online store posted on the Twitter account of the official People’s Daily newspaper.
The state-run Global Times newspaper said the map also omitted South Tibet and the South China Sea, and that it had prompted hundreds of people to complain on Gap’s official account on China’s Weibo microblogging website.
The US company issued its apology on Weibo late Monday, saying it “respects the integrity of China’s sovereignty and territory.”
“We are terribly sorry for this unintentional mistake. We are doing internal checks to correct the mistake as soon as possible,” Gap said.
“We have removed the product from the Chinese market and destroyed them all.”
The company said it strictly abides by Chinese law and will devote itself to greater scrutiny to avoid similar errors in the future.
The Global Times quoted Gap as saying that the T-shirt had not been released in China.
US hotel chain Marriott, Spanish clothing giant Zara and a slew of airlines have faced China’s wrath for not classifying Taiwan as part of China on their websites.
The White House hit back at the push earlier this month, calling the demands placed on airlines “Orwellian nonsense.”
The Chinese Civil Aviation Administration had sent a notice to 36 foreign airlines, including a number of US carriers, on April 25, asking them to comply with Beijing’s standards, according to the White House.
In January, Australia’s Qantas Airways changed its website classification of Taiwan and Hong Kong from separate countries to Chinese territories, blaming its earlier approach on an “oversight.”
Taiwan has been self-ruled since splitting from the mainland after a 1949 civil war, maintaining its own government, military and independent foreign policy.
Gap ‘terribly sorry’ over T-shirt China map without Taiwan
Gap ‘terribly sorry’ over T-shirt China map without Taiwan
PIF-backed EV maker Lucid hits 16k 2025 deliveries, sets sights on robotaxi deployment
RIYADH: Electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Group, majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, announced a surge in deliveries in 2025 with volumes reaching 15,841 units, a 55 percent increase year-on-year.
According to a statement, the EV maker also provided an optimistic production outlook for 2026, signaling confidence in its operational turnaround and strategic shift toward autonomy.
In September 2023, the group opened its first-ever international car manufacturing facility in the Kingdom. The hub serves as the company’s second Advanced Manufacturing Plant and its first outside of the US.
According to the earnings report, the company delivered 5,345 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2025, up 72 percent from the same period in the previous year, marking its eighth consecutive quarter of record deliveries.
Interim CEO Marc Winterhoff said that 2025 “was all about execution and strategy adjustment to set Lucid up for long-term success. Against a challenging macro backdrop, we nearly doubled production, gained market share, reduced unit costs, and strengthened our financial position.”
This commercial momentum translated directly into financial gains. Lucid’s fourth-quarter revenue soared 123 percent to $522.7 million, while full-year 2025 earnings climbed 68 percent to $1.35 billion. The company ended the quarter with a robust liquidity position of approximately $4.6 billion.
A key driver of the improved performance was the ramp-up of production, including the launch of the Lucid Gravity SUV. Despite facing supply chain and tariff headwinds, Lucid nearly doubled its total production for the year.
The company clarified its final production figures for 2025, reporting a total of 17,840 vehicles. This aligns with its previous guidance of approximately 18,000 units.
Lucid explained that a preliminary estimate of 18,378 units, announced in early January, was revised after 538 vehicles were found not to have completed the final internal validation procedures required to be classified as “produced.”
These vehicles are expected to be finalized in 2026, and the company stressed the revision does not impact previously reported financial results.
The manufacturer expects to produce between 25,000 and 27,000 vehicles in 2026, representing growth of up to 51 percent compared with 2025.
Chief Financial Officer Taoufiq Boussaid said: “Q4 marked a clear step-change in production and unit economics. The progress we made is structural, creating a more repeatable and stable operating cadence heading into 2026.”
Beyond the production numbers, Lucid outlined a pivot toward software and autonomy. Winterhoff highlighted the company’s ambition to become an “early mover in the emerging robotaxi market” by leveraging its industry-leading EV technology and strategic partnerships.
To fund these future growth platforms while maintaining financial discipline, the company is making targeted adjustments to its workforce.
“As we prepare for the next stage of our product and volume expansion, we are making targeted adjustments to our US-based, non-manufacturing workforce to reallocate resources to support the next stage of our growth and margin progression,” Boussaid added.
He reiterated the company’s commitment to “financial rigor, operational efficiency, and thoughtful capital allocation.”
In January 2025, the EV maker became the first global automotive company to join the Kingdom’s “Made in Saudi” program, granting it the right to use the “Saudi Made” label on its products, symbolizing the nation’s focus on quality and innovation.
Lucid’s facility, located in King Abdullah Economic City, can currently assemble 5,000 vehicles annually during its first phase. Once fully operational, the complete manufacturing plant, including the assembly line, is expected to produce up to 155,000 electric cars per year.
This comes as the Kingdom is promoting the adoption of electric vehicles as part of its Vision 2030 strategy, which aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2060.
A critical target of the initiative is for 30 percent of all vehicles in Riyadh to be electric by 2030, contributing to a broader goal of reducing emissions in the capital by 50 percent.
